This is Bob Odenkirk
'''Bob Odenkirk''' '''Robert John "Bob" Odenkirk''' (born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known for being the co-creator and co-star of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Box_Office HBO] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sketch_comedy sketch comedy] series ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Show_with_Bob_and_David Mr. Show with Bob and David]'' and for his role as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_White_(Breaking_Bad) Walter White]'s sleazy lawyer, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Goodman_(Breaking_Bad) Saul Goodman] on AMC's ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad Breaking Bad]'' and its spin-off series ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Call_Saul Better Call Saul]''. In the 1980s and 1990s, he worked as a writer for such television shows as ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Live Saturday Night Live]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_a_Life_(TV_series) Get A Life]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ben_Stiller_Show The Ben Stiller Show]'', and ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dennis_Miller_Show The Dennis Miller Show]''. In the mid-1990s, Odenkirk and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cross David Cross] created the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmy Emmy]-winning sketch comedy program ''Mr. Show with Bob and David'', which ran for four seasons and ultimately became a cult success. In the early 2000s, Odenkirk discovered [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Heidecker Tim Heidecker] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Wareheim Eric Wareheim] and produced their television series ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Goes_to_the_Mayor Tom Goes to the Mayor]'' and ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_and_Eric_Awesome_Show,_Great_Job! Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!]''. He has directed three films: ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Goes_to_Dinner Melvin Goes to Dinner]'' (2003), ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_to_Prison Let's Go to Prison]'' (2006), and ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brothers_Solomon The Brothers Solomon]'' (2007). Odenkirk was born in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berwyn,_Illinois Berwyn, Illinois], and raised in nearby [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naperville Naperville]. He is the son of Barbara and Walter Odenkirk, one of seven children. He was raised in a Catholic family. Walter Odenkirk was employed in the printing business. Odenkirk is of half Irish descent and half German descent. His parents divorced. His father's battle with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism alcoholism] would influence Bob's decision to avoid alcohol almost completely. He would later say that he grew up "hating" Naperville because "it felt like a dead end, like Nowheresville. I couldn't wait to move into a city and be around people who were doing exciting things."Odenkirk's father died of terminal bone cancer in 1995. Odenkirk went to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naperville_North_High_School Naperville North High School] and attended [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquette_University Marquette University] in Milwaukee, WI, then transferred to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Illinois_University_Carbondale Southern Illinois] in Carbondale, IL, "honing his sketch-writing and performance skills with live shows on both colleges' radio stations." He began his foray into comedy writing as a radio [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ DJ] for WIDB ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbondale,_Illinois Carbondale, Illinois]), his local [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_radio college station] at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Illinois_University_Carbondale SIU-Carbondale]. He worked at WIDB with newsman Greg Weindorf and traffic man Matt "The Agitator" Helser now of ''Dirty Laundry Podcast'' fame. He created a radio comedy hour, sometimes an hour and a half, called "The Prime Time Special" with many recurring characters. "It often had us in stitches" said then WIDB Program Director, Victor Lentini. After three years of college, Odenkirk decided to try writing and improv in Chicago. First studying with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Close Del Close], Odenkirk attended "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Players_Workshop The Players Workshop] of the Second City" where he met Robert Smigel, and they began a collaboration that would last for years and take Bob to ''Saturday Night Live''. Odenkirk has said his strongest comedic influence was ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python%27s_Flying_Circus Monty Python's Flying Circus]'', primarily due to its combination of cerebral and simple humor. Other influences included radio personality[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Dahl Steve Dahl], ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_City_Television SCTV]'', [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Martin Steve Martin]'s ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Get_Small Let's Get Small]'', [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Allen Woody Allen], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Credibility_Gap The Credibility Gap], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_and_Ray Bob and Ray]. He visited Chicago's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_City Second City Theater] at the age of 14. His brother is comedy writer[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Odenkirk Bill Odenkirk]. Odenkirk was hired as a writer at ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1987 and worked there through 1991. Working alongside [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smigel Robert Smigel] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_O%27Brien Conan O'Brien], he contributed to many sketches they created, but felt uncertain of the efficacy of his own writing at the show. He acted in several small roles on the show, most visibly during a 1991 parody commercial for Bad Idea Jeans. During his final year at ''SNL'', he worked alongside [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Sandler Adam Sandler], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Spade David Spade], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rock Chris Rock], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Farley Chris Farley], but his desire to perform caused him to leave the show.[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify clarification needed]''] He has credited ''SNL'' with teaching him many lessons about sketch writing, from senior writers like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Downey_(comedian) James Downey] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Franken Al Franken], as well as his friends Smigel and O'Brien.When ''Saturday Night Live''took its 1988 summer break, Odenkirk returned to Chicago to perform a stage show with Smigel and O'Brien, titled ''Happy Happy Good Show''. The following summer he did a one-man show,''Show-Acting Guy'', directed by Tom Gianas. During his final summer hiatus, he wrote and acted in the Second City Mainstage show, ''Flag Burning Permitted in Lobby Only''. In that particular show, he wrote the character "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Foley Matt Foley], Motivational Speaker", for Chris Farley, which would later be reprised on ''SNL''. In 1991, Odenkirk was hired to write for the TV show ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_a_Life_(TV_series) Get a Life]'', which starred ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Night_with_David_Letterman Late Night with David Letterman]'' alumnus [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Elliott Chris Elliott]. Other notable writers on the show included [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Resnick Adam Resnick]and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Kaufman Charlie Kaufman]. The show was short-lived, and in 1992, Odenkirk briefly wrote for ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dennis_Miller_Show The Dennis Miller Show]''. Odenkirk's friendship with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Stiller Ben Stiller], with whom he briefly shared an office at ''SNL'', would lead to him being hired for the cast of ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ben_Stiller_Show The Ben Stiller Show]'' in 1992. Working as both a writer and actor on the show, he created and starred in the memorable sketch "Manson Lassie", and helped the show win an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmy_Award Emmy Award] for writing. However, the show had already been canceled by the time it won the award. Odenkirk served as a writer on NBC's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Night_with_Conan_O%27Brien Late Night with Conan O'Brien] for the show's first two seasons. Odenkirk met [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cross David Cross] at ''Ben Stiller;'' shortly afterward, the pair began performing live sketch shows, which eventually evolved into ''Mr. Show with Bob and David''. In 1993, Odenkirk began a recurring role on ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Larry_Sanders_Show The Larry Sanders Show]'' as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Larry_Sanders_Show_characters#Larry_Sanders Larry Sanders]' agent, Stevie Grant. He would sporadically continue the character through 1998.Also in 1993, Odenkirk had brief acting roles on ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseanne_(TV_show) Roseanne]'' and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Arnold_(actor) Tom Arnold]'s ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jackie_Thomas_Show The Jackie Thomas Show]''. Created by Odenkirk and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cross David Cross], ''Mr. Show'' ran on HBO for 4 seasons, over 33 episodes. The show featured a number of comedians in the early stages of their careers, including [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Silverman Sarah Silverman], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_F._Tompkins Paul F. Tompkins], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Black Jack Black], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Kenny Tom Kenny], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Lynn_Rajskub Mary Lynn Rajskub], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Posehn Brian Posehn] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Aukerman Scott Aukerman]. While nominated for multiple Emmy awards in writing and generally well liked by critics, it never broke out of a "cult" audience into larger mainstream acceptance. After ''Mr. Show'', Bob and David and the writers from the staff wrote the movie ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run,_Ronnie,_Run Run, Ronnie, Run]''. The film was an extension of a sketch from the first season of the show. However, the studio took production control away from Cross and Odenkirk during the editing stages, and the pair disowned the final product. Since ''Mr. Show'', Odenkirk has acted in numerous television shows and some films. He has written and produced many TV pilots, including ''The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke'' and ''David's Situation'', but none have made it to air or been picked up as a series. In 2004, Odenkirk received an unsolicited package including the work of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Heidecker Tim Heidecker] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Wareheim Eric Wareheim]. Inspired by their unique voice, he connected with them and helped them develop a semi-animated show for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Swim Adult Swim] called ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Goes_to_the_Mayor Tom Goes to the Mayor]''. He assisted Tim and Eric with the development of their second series,''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_and_Eric_Awesome_Show,_Great_Job Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job]''. He has had a number of small featuring roles on TV shows, including ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Katz,_Professional_Therapist Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seinfeld Seinfeld],'' ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NewsRadio NewsRadio]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Shoot_Me! Just Shoot Me!]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_(TV_series) Joey]'',''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_Your_Enthusiasm Curb Your Enthusiasm]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrested_Development_(TV_series) Arrested Development]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entourage_(TV_series) Entourage]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeds_(TV_series) Weeds]'', and ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_I_Met_Your_Mother How I Met Your Mother]''.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Odenkirk#cite_note-imdb-filmography-7 [7]] He also appeared in ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everybody_Loves_Raymond Everybody Loves Raymond]'' as Scott Preeman.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Odenkirk#cite_note-10] Odenkirk had been selected to be [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Scott_(The_Office) Michael Scott] in the pilot of ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Office_(U.S._TV_series) The Office]'' but the producers' original choice, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Carell Steve Carell], became available again and was cast instead. Odenkirk finally guested in the final season of ''The Office'' as a Philadelphia manager strongly reminiscent of Michael Scott. In 2009, Odenkirk joined the cast of AMC's ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad Breaking Bad]'' as corrupt lawyer [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Goodman_(Breaking_Bad) Saul Goodman]. He appeared as a guest star in three episodes of the second season, and eventually became a series regular for the seasons after and remained on the show until its final season. It was announced on September 11, 2013 that AMC greenlit a spin-off series for Odenkirk's character Saul Goodman from ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad Breaking Bad]'', a prequel, highlighting Goodman before he met Walter. The show, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Call_Saul Better Call Saul]'', is set to consist of one-hour episode formats. In 2011, Odenkirk wrote and developed ''Let's Do This!'' for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Swim Adult Swim], starring as Cal Mackenzie-Goldberg a "two-bit movie mogul and head of Cal-Gold Pictures as he leads a collection of crazy, fame-hungry strivers chasing Hollywood dreams". The pilot can be seen on Adult Swim's website. Odenkirk executive produced the sketch comedy show ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birthday_Boys_(TV_series) The Birthday Boys]'' which starred the comedy group of the same name. Odenkirk also appeared in and directed a number of the sketches on the show as well. It premiered on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFC_(U.S._TV_channel) IFC] on October 18, 2013. Odenkirk's first roles in film were in such films as ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne%27s_World_2 Wayne's World 2]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cable_Guy The Cable Guy]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can%27t_Stop_Dancing Can't Stop Dancing]'' and ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkeybone Monkeybone]'', albeit in very minor roles. In 2003, Odenkirk directed ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Goes_to_Dinner Melvin Goes to Dinner]'' and also played the role of Keith. The film received positive reviews from critics and won the Audience Award at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SXSW SXSW Film and Music Festival]. It was later self-released in five cities, then distributed on DVD by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundance_Group Sundance].[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]''] Odenkirk later directed ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_to_Prison Let's Go to Prison]'' in 2006, written by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lennon Tom Lennon] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Garant Ben Garant] of ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_State_(TV_show) The State]'' and ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reno_911 Reno 911]'' fame. ''Let's Go to Prison'' starred [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Arnett Will Arnett], as well as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dax_Shepard Dax Shepard] and[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_McBride Chi McBride]. The film had a negative response from critics and audiences, and bombed at the box office.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Odenkirk#cite_note-15 [15]][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Odenkirk#cite_note-16 [16]] The following year Odenkirk directed ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brothers_Solomon The Brothers Solomon]'', written by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Forte Will Forte]. The film starred Forte, Will Arnett and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristin_Wiig Kristin Wiig]. The film was met with a similar reception as ''Let's Go to Prison'' and did overwhelmingly badly at the box office. After starring in ''Breaking Bad'', Odenkirk began to have more prominent roles in critically successful films such as ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giant_Mechanical_Man The Giant Mechanical Man]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spectacular_Now The Spectacular Now]'', which received the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Sundance_Film_Festival#Awards Special Jury Award for Acting] at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Sundance_Film_Festival 2013 Sundance Film Festival], and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Payne Alexander Payne]-directed film ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_(film) Nebraska]'', which was nominated for a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palme_d%27Or Palme d'Or] at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Cannes_Film_Festival 2013 Cannes Film Festival]. He also began to star more prominently in comedy films as well, such as ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Me_Home_Tonight_(film) Take Me Home Tonight]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ass_Backwards Ass Backwards]'', ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dealin%27_with_Idiots Dealin' with Idiots]'' and ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_%26_Back Hell & Back]''. Odenkirk was one of the directors of the 2013 anthology comedy film ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_43 Movie 43]''. Odenkirk is married to Naomi Yomtov. The couple have two children, son Nathan William Odenkirk (born on December 3, 1998) and daughter Erin Jane Odenkirk (born on November 24, 2000).